Description
Using a wealth of archival sources previously unavailable to scholars, Smith examines the forces that attracted many social and intellectual leaders of eighteenth-century Russia to Freemasonry as an instrument for change and progress. By "working the rough stone" of their inner thoughts and feelings, such men sought to become champions of moral enlightenment and to create a vision of social action that could bring about change without challenging the social and political precepts on which Russia's stability depended.
By challenging a number of long-held notions about Russian society, Smith broadens our understanding of the complex history of eighteenth-century Russia. Engagingly written and richly illustrated with rare engravings of Masonic life and ritual, this volume will appeal to readers interested in Russia, Europe, the Enlightenment, and the history of Freemasonry.Author: Douglas Smith
Publisher: Northern Illinois University Press
Published: 05/01/1999
Pages: 267
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.35lbs
Size: 9.25h x 6.29w x 1.05d
ISBN13: 9780875802466
ISBN10: 087580246X
BISAC Categories:
- History | Russia | General
- Social Science | Freemasonry & Secret Societies
- Religion | General
About the Author
Douglas Smith is editor and translator of Love and Conquest: Personal Correspondence of Catherine the Great and Prince Grigory Potemkin, which won the 2004 Heldt Prize for Translation. He lives in Seattle.